U.S. patent number 7,517,104 [Application Number 11/198,973] was granted by the patent office on 2009-04-14 for mogul based bench worklight.
Invention is credited to Monte A. Leen.
United States Patent |
7,517,104 |
Leen |
April 14, 2009 |
Mogul based bench worklight
Abstract
A low energy, bright bench worklight that uses two threaded
mogul based fluorescent bulbs at each end. The worklight includes
an elongated main housing with a downward extending opening formed
therein. Located inside the housing and behind each bulb is a
concave reflector. Located on each end of the main housing is a
light assembly that includes a longitudinally aligned socket and a
PCB. Located centrally and extending transversely over the housing
is a switch bracket to which a manual switch is attached to
selectively control activation of the bulbs. A removable cage
attached at the opening of the main housing to protect the
bulbs.
Inventors: |
Leen; Monte A. (Bellevue,
WA) |
Family
ID: |
40525055 |
Appl.
No.: |
11/198,973 |
Filed: |
August 8, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
362/33; 362/260;
362/376; 362/404 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F21S
8/00 (20130101); F21S 8/06 (20130101); F21V
19/0095 (20130101); F21V 23/02 (20130101); F21V
23/04 (20130101); F21W 2131/402 (20130101); F21Y
2103/37 (20160801) |
Current International
Class: |
F21V
21/008 (20060101); F21S 8/06 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;362/33,216,147,260,404,376,225,391,407 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Husar; Stephen F.
Assistant Examiner: Neils; Peggy A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Craine; Dean A.
Claims
I claim:
1. A mogul based fluorescent bench worklight, comprising: a. an
elongated main housing with a downward extending opening formed
therein; b two mogul based fluorescent bulb assemblies located on
opposite ends of said main housing, each said assembly including an
inward directed, longitudinally aligned mogul base socket; c. a
mogul based fluorescent bulb connected to each said mogul base
socket on said assemblies; d. a reflector located inside said main
housing and behind each said bulbs; e. a switch means connected to
each said bulb assembly for activating and deactivating each said
bulb assembly; f. an electric power cord connected to each said
bulb assembly; g. means for suspending said main housing from a
ceiling and over a workbench; h. a cage disposed over said opening
on said main housing; and, i. means for selectively attaching said
cage to said main housing.
2. The bench worklight, as recited in claim 1, wherein said means
for suspending said main housing from a ceiling are two chains
evenly spaced apart and attached to said main housing.
3. The bench worklight, as recited in claim 2, wherein said switch
means is connected to a transversely aligned switch bracket located
on said main housing.
4. The bench worklight, as recited in claim 3, further including an
inverted U-shaped cover disposed over said switch bracket.
5. The bench worklight, as recited in claim 4, wherein each said
main housing includes a curved top surface, two flat end surfaces,
a downward extending opening formed on said main housing, and a
flange surface surrounding said opening.
6. The bench worklight, as recited in claim 5, wherein each said
bulb assembly includes an assembly housing mounted on opposite ends
of said main housing, each said assembly housing including a socket
receiver in which said socket is disposed and a traverse outer edge
that is flush with said flange surface formed on said main
housing.
7. The bench worklight, as recited in claim 6, wherein said means
for selectively attaching said cage to said main housing are a
plurality of adjustable clips attached to said flange surface.
8. The bench worklight, as recited in claim 6, wherein said
reflector comprises two concave reflectors located inside said main
housing and behind said bulb assemblies.
9. A mogul based fluorescent bench worklight, consisting: a. an
elongated main housing with a longitudinal axis and a downward
extending opening formed therein; b. two mogul based fluorescent
bulb assemblies located on opposite ends of said main housing, each
said assembly including an inward directed mogul base socket
aligned with said longitudinal axis, each said base socket being
connected to a PCB with a ballast circuit that operates a mogul
base fluorescent bulb connected to said socket; c. a mogul based
fluorescent bulb connected to each said mogul base socket on said
assemblies; d. a reflector located inside said main housing and
behind each said bulbs; e. a switch means connected to each said
bulb assembly for activating and deactivating each said bulb
assembly; f. an electric power cord connected to each said bulb
assembly; g. means for suspending said main housing from a ceiling
and over a workbench; h. a cage disposed over said opening on said
main housing; and, i. means for selectively attaching said cage to
said main housing.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to lighting, and more particularly
to fluorescent bench worklights.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fluorescent bulb-type lamps that include a threaded connector that
screw into a complimentary-shaped threaded connector are relatively
common. Such lamps, called mogul based lamps, have an advantage
over standard incandescent bulbs because they are more energy
efficient.
Heretofore, fluorescent bench lights use two to four 25 to 40 watt
fluorescent tubes. The ends of the tubes connect to the slot
connectors located near the opposite ends of the light's housing.
Depending on the number of tubes used in the fixture, one or more
electrical ballasts may be used that provides sufficiently high
starting currents to initially illuminate the bulbs.
The main drawback with standard fluorescent tubes is that they are
insufficiently bright for illuminating a workbench. Another
drawback with such tubes is that when one of the tubes or ballasts
break or malfunction, the entire light no longer operates.
What is needed is a workbench light fixture that uses low energy
fluorescent light with greater brightness that does not stop
operating when one of the lights breaks or malfunctions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide workbench light
fixture.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a
workbench fixture that uses low energy fluorescent lights.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a
workbench fixture that provides greater brightness and will
continue to illuminate if one or more fluorescent lights break or
malfunction.
These and other objects are met by an elongated workbench light
fixture that includes an elongated main housing with two
mogul-based fluorescent bulbs connected to light assemblies located
at opposite ends of the main housing. The main housing is a
three-sided enclosure with a downward extending opening through
which light from the two mogul-based fluorescent bulbs is emitted
downward onto a workbench. Located inside the main housing and
behind the two bulbs are two concave reflectors designed to reflect
light downward through the opening. Each light assembly is a flush
mounted inside the housing and contains the associated electrical
components used to operate the bulb. Located centrally in the main
housing is a transversely aligned switch bracket to which a manual
switch is attached and controls activation of the two bulbs.
Disposed over the bracket is an inverted U-shaped reflective cover.
Disposed over the downward opening on the main housing is a
removable cage.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the mogul based bench worklight
disclosed herein located over a workbench.
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the mogul based bench
worklight.
FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the worklight with the cage removed
from the main housing.
FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the worklight.
FIG. 5 is a sectional side elevational view of an assembly housing
with a mogul bulb attached thereto.
FIG. 6 is an exploded, sectional view of the assembly housing shown
in FIG. 4.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)
There is shown in FIGS. 1-6 a mogul based bench worklight,
generally referenced as 10, with two longitudinally aligned, inward
directional, mogul-based fluorescent bulbs 90, 90' located on its
opposite ends. The worklight 10 includes an elongated main housing
12 with an downward extending opening 14 formed therein which
enables light from the two bulbs 90, 90' to be emitted downward
onto a workbench located below. In the preferred embodiment, the
main housing 12 includes a curved outer top surface 13 with two
flat end surfaces 15, 16. Formed around the opening 14 is a
continuous flange surface 18.
Formed inside the main housing 12 is an elongated cavity 19.
Located inside the cavity 19 and attached on opposite end surfaces
15, 16 of the main housing 12 are two mogul bulb assemblies 20,
20', respectively. Each mogul bulb assembly 20, 20' includes an
assembly housing 22, 22' that includes a semi-circular inside edge
23 and a flat, inner surface 24. The assembly housing 22, 22' is
sufficient in size so that its transverse outside edge 24B is flush
and even with the flange surface 18. Each assembly housing 22, 22'
also includes an inward transverse surface 25 with a
cylindrical-shaped socket receiver 28 formed thereon. Formed inside
the assembly housing 22 are three radially spaced-apart,
longitudinally aligned threaded posts 30, 32, 34. During assembly,
screws 31, 33, 35 extended through the end surfaces 15, 16 of the
main housing 12 and attach to the posts 30, 32, 34, respectively,
to securely hold the assembly housing 22 on the adjacent end
surfaces 15 or 16.
Located inside each assembly housing 22 is a transversely aligned,
printed circuit board 37 (PCB) that controls the flow of
electricity to the socket 40 attached inside the socket receiver 28
that receives the threads 92 on a mogul-style fluorescent bulb 90.
The PCB 37 includes a ballast circuit 38 that operates the bulb 90.
Permanently attached to the PCB 37 are two perpendicularly aligned
threaded screws 40, 41 that extend inward and through the inside
surface 29 of a socket receiver 28. Also attached to the PCB 37 is
a hole for a third threaded screw 42 that attaches to a center
contact bar 43 that extends centrally inside the socket 40 and
makes contact with the center contact 93 on the bulb 90 when
connected to the socket 40. Three nuts are attached to the screws
40, 41, 42 to connect the PCB 37 to the socket receiver 28 and to
hold the contact bar 43 in a fixed position inside the socket
40.
Attached to the main housing 12 is a transversely aligned switch
bracket 50 with a hole 52 formed therein, designed to receive a
pull switch 54. The pull switch 54 is connected to a hot wire that
extends from the end of a main electrical cord 60 that extends
through a hole 17 formed on the top surface 13 of the main housing
12. Accompanying the hot wire is a ground wire that connects
directly the to bracket 50. Also accompanying the hot and neutral
wires in the cord 60 is a neutral wire that is spliced with two
secondary wires that connect to the two light assemblies 20, 20'.
Two additional secondary wires extend from connectors on the pull
switch 54 to connectors on the light assemblies 20, 20'. An
inverted, u-shaped cap 62 is placed over the switch bracket 50 to
prevent access and exposure to the wires and the pull switch
54.
Located longitudinally behind each bulb 90 is a concave reflector
65, 65'. A plurality of tabs 67 are formed along the inside edge of
the opening 14 in which the perimeter edge of the two reflectors
65, 65' engage to hold the reflector 65, 65' inside the main
housing 12.
Disposed over the opening 14 in the main housing 12 is a removable
cage 70. Clips 72 are attached to the flange surface 18 which holds
the outer edge of the cage 70 in place over the opening 14.
During use, two hang chains 75, 75' are hung from a suitable pair
of hooks 72, 72' attached to the ceiling 83. The distal ends of the
two chains 75, 75' are attached to a second pair of hooks 77, 77'
attached to the top surface 13 of the main housing 12.
The cage 70 is temporarily removed from the main housing 12 so that
two mogul-style fluorescent bulbs 90, 90' may be attached to the
two light assemblies 20, 20'. Once the bulbs 90, 90' are attached
to the assemblies 20, 20' the cage 70 is then re-attached to the
main housing 12 via the clips 72. The plug 61 on the electric cord
60 is then connected to an electric outlet (not shown). The pull
switch 54 is then turned to the "ON" position to activate the two
bulbs 90, 90'.
In the preferred embodiment, the main housing 12 measures
approximately 37 inches in length, 8 inches in width, and 31/2 in
height or depth. Each mogul-style bulb 90, 90' is rated at 65 w
with a threaded neck 92 that measures approximately 11/2 inches in
diameter. The glass portion 94 of each bulb 90, 90' is
approximately 61/2 inches in length and 21/4 inches in
diameter.
In compliance with the statute, the invention described herein has
been described in language more or less specific as to structural
features. It should be understood, however, that the invention is
not limited to the specific features shown, since the means and
construction shown, is comprised only of the preferred embodiments
for putting the invention into effect. The invention is therefore
claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the legitimate
and valid scope of the amended claims, appropriately interpreted in
accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.
* * * * *